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In October 2002, Moi went to a private Hospital A for a checkup. No problem was detected.

In March 2003, Moi went to another private Hospital B for endoscopy, ultrasound, CT scan and blood test. The results:

CT scan on 5 March 2003, showed a 3.3 cm well-defined simple cyst in Segment 1 of her liver. In the upper pole of her right kidney was a 2.4 cm enhancing nodule with exophytic component.

USG showed a well distended gallbladder with multiple polyps with an average size of 0.6 cm.

Blood test showed all parameters were within normal limits except for an elevated ESR (26 mm/hr) and GGT (40 IU/L).

Not satisfied with the above results, Moi went to another private Hospital C. An ultrasound on 13 March 2003 confirmed the presence of:

A 3.4 x 3.3 cm cyst in the right lobe of her liver.

A 6.7 mm polyp in her gallbladder.

MRI of her abdomen done on the same day confirmed the presence of a 2.5×1.6×2.5 cm, irregularly enhancing mass in the upper pole of her right kidney with features suggestive of an underlying renal cell carcinoma.

An upper endoscopy done on the same day indicated gastritis and gastric polyps.

The surgeon in Hospital C suggested a complete removal of her right kidney. Moi was unhappy with this suggestion. She went to consult another surgeon of another private Hospital D. She was given the same advice – “Remove the kidney as soon as possible or else you die.”

Moi defied the doctors’ suggestion and on 14 March 2003, she came to seek our help. She presented with the following:

Numbness of fingers for the past one and a half years.

Pains, two or three times a day. She would have pains if she walks or stands up. There would be no pains if she sits down.

Her sleep, appetite, bowel movements and urination are normal.

We prescribed Moi Capsule A, deTox tea, Kidney Tea and Stomach Function Tea. Surprisingly enough, Moi became well within a week. She continued taking the herbs for about seven months. Her last visit to CA Care, according to our record, was on 21 November 2003. From then on, we never got to see Moi again.

It was with great surprise and gladness that on 10 September 2010, i.e., seven and a half years later, Moi came to CA Care again. This time not for herself but to bring her sister-in-law who had ovarian cancer.

Listen to our conversation that day.

Comments

Do you believe this story? We find it hard to believe. But it is happening right at our centre. How could we not believe it? Perhaps there is something else that we could not believe? It would be an insult to those experts in those many hospitals if we were to say that their scanning machines were not functioning properly or that their opinions were somehow wrong, at least in this particular case. So, we are not going to say that.

There is something that makes us not want to believe it even though it is true! If you are confused with what we say, don’t worry. We are just as confused.

One thing, we would say, Moi was just been plain lucky. If she were to see us earlier and showed us all those scans and reports, we would also “press” her to go for surgery – to save her life in time! In this case, she took six months “hopping” around from hospitals to hospitals. And by the time Moi came to us, she was firm with her decision – Surgery? No thanks! So the decision to defy the doctors’ recommendation was entirely hers. She gambled with her life and thus far she had won.

Again, let us talk about opportunity cost. What could have happened if Moi were to passively follow the doctors’ recommendation? One kidney gone, and perhaps her gallbladder too would be cut off since there were many polyps. Then, what about the stomach polyps? What is life like after that?

There is one more thing that made us not believe this story – you mean to say by just taking herbs for a week, her problems were gone? That’s impossible!

During our conversation, Moi raised one interesting point. She said: “I went to the doctors because of my stomach problems – too much wind. I could not figure out why they wanted to remove my kidney. The doctors were unable to enlighten me what stomach wind has got to do with my kidney?”

She wanted the doctors to solve her stomach problems but they did not offer to do that.

One lesson to learn from this story: You just have to have guts to defy your doctors. Know that human beings are not God and we may not be right all the times. What made them think that Moi is going to die soon if she did not remove her kidney?

As a conclusion, allow us to quote an email that got into our inbox recently. Let us be clear on the onset that we are not sure of the truth of this email. Nevertheless, the message of the mail relates well with this case.

This is what the email says:

“A friend of mine was diagnosed as a having a septic leg and being a diabetic, he was told by the doctors that the leg up to his ankle must be cut since gangrene has already set in. It will cost RM25K just to saw off the leg. I told him to get 2nd opinion … The specialist in YY told him that there is nothing wrong with the leg and gave him antibiotics instead. Today (four years after the incidence), at age 61, he is still working and doing things such as climbing without much problems. What would it be if he had listened to the xxx doctor at xxx? He would be walking with crutches! Poorer by about 25K and without a job to support his family. What a shame these…”

Another email is supposedly written by a medical doctor. It says:

“I am a general surgeon in private practice… An 8-year-old boy was brought to see me by his father after suffering from fever, cough and vomiting for 1 day. He DID NOT HAVE ANY ABDOMINAL PAIN. He was initially seen by a general practitioner who insisted that the father bring him to see ‘Surgeon G’ at a specific private medical centre… when he brought his son to see ‘Surgeon G’, the surgeon examined his son’s abdomen and pressed so hard that he elicited pain. Then the surgeon told the father that the son had a perforated appendix and insisted that he be operated the same night. The father was baffled because his son did not have any abdominal pain prior to that examination but he reluctantly agreed upon insistence by the surgeon. About 1 hour prior to the surgery, the father suspected that something was not right and he asked for his son to be discharged. He then brought his son to see me. After a thorough examination, I was convinced that the boy did not have appendicitis and definitely not a perforated one.”

The email ended with this message: “Please circulate this article to your friends and loved ones and let’s hope no one will suffer…”

My internet search shows the person with this email addressmcheng.uro@gmail.com is Michael Cheng Kok Hong
MBChB(Queen’s) FRCS(Edinburgh) FRCS(Ireland) Fellowship In Urology (Melbourne) Malaysian Board of Ur
Specialty: Urology
Sorry doctor, take the story as it is. She is still alive and is still with her kidney intact. That is all that matters. I don’t think it is right for me to ask her to do any scanning etc. That is just being academic. If it bothers her, then it is for her to decide if she wants to do or know more.